At the same time, though, being that I'm a woman, my perspective can't be any other than "a woman's perspective," and people often ask me to contribute that. More and more, I've felt that maybe it's been naive of me to simply pretend a lack of diversity will go away if me and others like me "just do our best", so I've been happy to talk more on female-specific issues when it seems relevant and constructive.
That's why I am SO over the moon to have gotten a chance to work with Daniel Floyd on his latest animated short -- if you're not familiar with his Zero Punctuation-inspired, fun and smart video analyses of various video game issues, check them out. He and I collaborated on the script to his latest video on "Video Games and the Female Audience," and I am especially happy because it is the first time I have ever received a cartoon doppelganger! Here it is:
In a happy coincidence in timing, I was also asked by a nice pair of English gents with lovely soothing voices to appear on the latest Digital Cowboys podcast, where we enjoy an in-depth discussion on how female characters are represented inside video games. I had fun with this one, so please give it a listen ....especially if your only podcast experience with me to date has been GiantBomb. :)
38 comments:
At one of the music schools where I teach, I brought in my new DSi to pass some time. I had about ten students run up to me with excitement about it and they were ALL girls. I never thought I'd see that one...
I just sent this video to my mom and sis. Solid post Leigh. Maybe I missed something, but the video didn't really talk about a growing number of women becoming...I'd like to call it ambivalently desensitized. Women who have strong feelings both for and against games depicting women in a one-dimensional light, but because of how long they have been exposed to it [older brothers, or just growing in gaming for the past 20yrs!]. My lady gave me tons of sh*@ when the artwork for Ivy came out prior to the release of SCIV, but when she picked up the sticks...it was like a moth to a flame. Come to think of it...she still has my Soul Caliber. Thanks SVGL...for reminding me of a debt that needs to be paid.
A good opinion piece - although I'm starting to feel like the suggestion that casual games can be a "gateway drug" to proper gaming is a good example of a problematic attitude. It implies that the experiences of Halo and Warcraft are somehow more "pure", better than Bejeweled and Diner Dash, and that once people have been tempted into trying "real games" they'll see the light and somehow "evolve" into hardcore gamers. (Hooray for excessive quotation marks.)
Playing devil's advocate: doesn't the fact that Bejeweled has sold more than Halo and WoW combined and appealed to a much broader audience show us that IT, in fact, is the "better" game? It's especially impressive when you consider that the self-proclaimed hardcore gamers are not exactly a bastion of diversity; in fact they tend to be far more vocally aggressive towards anything that might make them look a bit odd in front of their friends than the disinterested women in the video, who simply shrug and let others get on with it. These gamers are not only actively threatened by Bejeweled, they go out of their way to belittle those who might enjoy it.
Anyway, I could go on a huge rant about how the competitive fun of outwitting your friend in Halo long enough to slap a grenade to them is a markedly different kind of fun to puzzle-solving and load balancing gameplay, and that asking people to suddenly enjoy competitive skill-based play is not a matter of making the buttons simpler or the breasts smaller, but I'm already coming dangerously close to making a mockery of the word "comment"...
- L
Yay for podcasts =)
Great video Leigh! I've seen a few of his videos before and they've always been fantastic.
I think I saw a poll recently that said 99% of young boys (around 8- to 15-years old) play videogames, and with girls the number is also a shockingly high 95%. Most of these polls are inflated, I'm sure, but at least it seems promising. That said, there's still too much pandering, labels and placing people in boxes, as shown in the video. I mean... do we really need to pump out constant Petz games to appeal to women? I like to think females are smarter and deeper than that.
The real problem, I think, is that most non-casual, story-driven games are made by and for men, with explosions and blood and gruff burly men and so on. Not to stereotype people and say women don't like that stuff or that it's all that men like, but still. Most games are created to appeal to teenage boys. That needs to change.
Strong female characters like Jade and Alyx help, as do female developers. It will take some work, but hopefully we'll get to the point when "female gamer" isn't a term and gender-based gaming isn't even an issue anymore.
I think that at the heart of this issue lies the whole notion of gender bias and target marketing. Despite a common perception that we're "moving forward" as a society and leaving behind antiquated notions of gender roles and stereotypes, targetted demographic marketing would certainly suggest otherwise.
Case in point, I was talking to my brother and 5-month pregant sister-in-law about their baby-to-be, when they mentioned that when decorating the baby's room, the very idea of a "gender neutral" room is practically non-existent these days. Beyond the so-pervasive-we-hardly-give-it-a-second-thought pinks and blues of gender color-coding, the male motifs were rife with fire trucks and race cars and the female designs were Same goes for the clothes, toys, and books.
Despite the fact that the baby/infant/young child has little to no concept of gender, be it personal gender or even the concept of gender at large, he/she is already being bombarded with gender-specific stereotypes and imagery, so that by the point in developmental psychological that gender DOES start emerging, these pre-defined images are already solidly ingrained. I personally found it somewhat disconcerting when I went to Toys R Us and the "toys" for a child as young as 12 months included plastic power toys for boys and plastic kitchen utensils for girls. Not only have we NOT moved beyond the widely satired and criticized ham-fisted gender stereotypes that are such a defining part of "old school" Americana of the early- to mid-20th century, we're teaching and enforcing them at a far YOUNGER age now than we did in the past.
Now, the video mentioned how the creator of Lara Croft had a far more progressive and well-rounded vision for the character, but once the marketing department got their hands on her, she was reduced to little more than a pair of boobs and a pair of guns. I think the gaming industry at large went through a similar transformation as it shifted into the 16-bit era and beyond.
Back when I was 6 or so, smack in the heyday of the NES era, it certainly seemed to me that EVERYONE, guys AND girls were playing video games. Yet even by the time I was 10 or so, that female demographic had totally evaporated. Why? Was it because the hyper-sexualized advertising juggernaut had already started chugging toward a male dominated demographic? Maybe, but again, why? I think it goes back to even more fundamental cultural and societal definitions of gender roles. Back in the NES, video games were little more than "toys"—stuff that got treated with the kiddy gloves and was ok for guys AND girls. However, as technology improved and the systems got far more sophisticated, before we knew it gaming systems had made the jump from "toys that happen to have electronics" to ELECTRONICS and even, *gasp, COMPUTERS. And, let's face it, in our society, electronics and computing are undisputed GUY territory. (Note: Even today, when electronics and technology are more and more pervasive, they're still far more guy oriented. The few times electronics are pitched to both sexes, for guys they tout "power, speed, efficiency, etc." yet for women they basically only play up that they're pretty and easy-to-use—and boy, they better be easy to use cause otherwise girls would obviously be too dumb and overwhelmed to handle it, right?!)
Once it was clear that games fell into the purview of electronics, and electronics are for boyz, the demographic was established, and the ad industry was off to the races—spewing purely male, chauvinist, exploitive material down our throats for the next 20 years. While I think there still is something of a "chicken or the egg" conundrum about whether advertising itself changed the demogrphic, or the demographic changed the focus of the advertising, at the heart of the issue are gender stereotypes about technology, electronics and computing that tie into the larger, more subtly and thoroughly ingrained, and far more problematic societal stereotypes that 1) science is for guys because 2) girls are DUMB.
Part of the divide that really hasn't been discussed is that culturally men have been allowed "toys and games" while women have not been. Men go golfing, fishing,
"working" on cars, hunting. etc. Its not to say that women can't do these things but as a culture there is a huge pressure against women having the time to drop everything and play. They are expected to run the household. Men are given the space to do these things. Its carried over to games. There is a reason that casual games that last less than 5 minuted then would find a large female audience, more than that and socially the pressure is against women.
I know this follows from past posts about how the game industry is sexist but at least realizes its sexist but hey thats my thesis and I'm sticking to it.
Why is this blog called Sexy Videogameland? Doesn't this go against what he was arguing about?
from my FAQ, anonymous:
Why "Sexy Videogameland?"
My first "real job" out of high school, I was a junior assistant in the marketing department of an enterprise storage company. I often heard the PR bigwigs complain that their task -- getting people to understand and be excited about their industry -- was made more complicated by the fact that "storage isn't sexy." And when I later became a writer, I realized that one of the challenges in getting people to understand and feel good about video games was that they weren't perceived as "sexy" either. Naming this blog was in part a statement of a goal to play some small role in helping change that. It was also a reflection of my interest in not shying away from sexual issues in games.
"Videogameland" came from the fact that my very first idea for this blog was to write about characters and places in video games as if they were real, and report on "news" that happened in the lives of video game characters. That lasted all of two posts, but that was the early concept.
The pairing of the two words is also a fairly obscure, later-era Simpsons reference, but I'll leave it to you to try and figure that one out.
Nice! I remember this Daniel Floyd guy, I didn't know he had a site (that seems obvious now). You shouldn't let him take your notes or push you around like that, though. :-P
I like what Floyd said at the end, that developers shouldn't make games geared towards guys or games geared towards girls and just make games. Maybe while the dev studios are still predominantly male, the games will still turn out to be guy games, but if the workplace demographic is changing maybe the games will follow.
Or, we hope so, if we still want women to get into hardcore gaming. I think casual gaming is too different from hardcore gaming to really be a gateway. Or I suppose we could just get them into Zelda. That seems to work.
I'm not convinced the grossly sexual depiction of women has any place in games of this generation or following generations. If guys want their fantasy, there are... other places to find it. I think respect is more important, for everyone involved. So, go Floyd on that one too.
I discovered your site after visiting a blog at 1Up.com and seeing the You Tube video. Nice material you wrote there.
Remember the PMS Clan? They were really big several years ago and attracted males like flies on rot. I found them to be mostly annoying because so many dudes drooled over some pretty girls. Big whoop.
I also get annoyed where ever I visit a blog of forum site that has one of those nude-girl-covered-with-retro-gaming-stuff photos. It's such a sellout.
Anyway, I enjoyed reading this post and I'm glad I discovered your blog.
If you like, stop by blog (not the Blogger one) sometime if you ever want to read some retro games reviews from my perspective.
http://spunky_d_99.1up.com
@L: I agree completely. The idea that "hardcore" video games are the "right" games to play and all other video games are lesser forms seems ridiculous to me, and I don't understand why it gets trotted out so often. People like to say that games should be this or that, or not this or that, but what we need is diversity. Different kinds of games, platforms, controllers, so that everyone can play what they enjoy and feel comfortable with.
An open market, through its greater variety in product, showers the rains of satisfaction on seriousness and perversion alike.
Closed markets inevitably become expensive markets, ruled by a monopoly or an oligopoly. As costs continue to rise, such an environment grows increasingly inhospitable to ideas which deviate from consistent, proven revenue generators.
Feel free to nod if this sounds familiar.
I consider it foolish to assert that ANY market must expand its consumer base to survive. Many industries do just fine catering to a particular demographic. This issue, then, seems to boil down to one central question:
What do you want console gaming to be?
If you desire to see games elevated to a status of greater breadth and widespread recognition of their power, then all your concerns about the barriers to female entry won't mean shit in the face of leviathan budgets. Women in the industry will not be able to build a sufficient foothold at pace with the escalating production costs, rendering any voice they might have in marketing or design moot.
If you desire that games remain the insular, esoteric domain of a largely male audience or don't care as long as you can still kill things and engage in masturbatory activity, then get ready to start paying even more money than you are now. Digital distribution will not make a lasting difference in price point; not under a structure in which the channels of delivery are exclusively controlled by a coterie of hardware manufacturers.
Either way, the economics are going to solve both problems. Our current situation is not sustainable.
It's becoming more and more difficult for publishers & developers to make a healthy profit, leading to increased studio consolidation and more titles being released on multiple platforms. Console makers have had to sell their machines at unprecedented loss this generation, which the current market leader has only avoided by putting out a "weaker" system.
Something has to give here.
The emergence, intended or not, of a more competitive and financially balanced business paradigm in videogames is the change that I'm convinced needs to happen before we can see a fundamental shift in the relationship between women and games that isn't transitory.
@L & Emily - While I do agree that no one type of game should be thought of as more "pure" than another, I do think some types have the advantage in terms of quality. Games have the potential to engage the player emotionally and intellectually. Peggle is not less of a game, but even the most vapid blockbuster will offer more for the mind. Although the snark in me says that maybe Halo and Peggle both are just about shoving bright, shiny things into your eyes.
Hi Leigh,
nice video and great presentation.
My issue with this all is that, despite women getting introduced to more gaming via the casual games genre, I believe it is a fallacy to think women would then automatically be more inclined to switch to other types of games.
If I look back at my Commodore 64 childhood, my mother was already joining into games. Ford Apocalypse, Boulder Dash and so on. Maybe the difference is that she learnt the computer as I grew up with it.
Also, the video is a bit suggestive in showing first white males as game designers and then suggesting, in another graphic, more diversity. Sure, on the gender side I agree, but if you check any title in the last 5 years you will find the credits are already composed of males (and sometimes females) from all kinds of different cultural backgrounds.
And it is also a bit of a moot point in a way. On all my trips to the arcades in Japan, the amount of girls and women playing videogames was high. They seemed to gravitate more to the dance dance revolution, photobooth, and taiko games though.
I will readily admit that, as a male, I can enjoy looking at some sexy female character in a game. I am not ashamed of that. But I will also readily admit that I enjoy having Alyx Vance on my side as I play Gordon Freeman.
I sincerely don't know what the true answer is, but I do not think we need to artificially restrict game types just to include the females. I think some of the females who play TF2 with me would be insulted. :)
--Jeroen
This issue is probably going to go on for a bit, I don't actually think it will get there to be honest. We already separate ourselves from them.
I'm a guy, I actually really hate the sexualisation of woman in games(yeah I said it) oh and Alyx Vance is still a stereotype woman(and to be honest its very easy to see)
I also agree with L that we have a problem that we don't consider Peggle and all those other "casual" games as proper games.
I should expand what I said. What I want to see in gaming is real characters, in gaming its just stereotypes at the moment. Which I guess can be fine, but sometimes the same stereotypes gets used over and over again. We criticize films for using stereotypes for there characters so I think we should do the same in games.
I recently sent a letter to EA about Mirror's Edge and how it could be improved for a future sequel. I suggested that the protagonist, Faith, wasn't particularly marketable and maybe that was part of the reason the game undersold. She's hardly the traditional stereotype of a leading character and I suggested that they find a different character for the sequel which would do better with the "core" demographic of gamers.
Yup, I regret those words. But, looking back, I think the reason why I didn't like Faith is because I didn't find her an interesting enough character. Stereotypical male or female characters are sexist, shallow entities but they are very defined, extreme archetypes – and I like them for that. Ultimately, I'd want a Marcus Fenix or Max Payne character rather than an undefined, albeit more "normal" looking, character.
What it comes down to, in the end, is good and bad writing; frankly, most video game characters are the latter, and writers seem to have better luck with simpler, conceptually angular characters than with complex ones.
Also, RE: Digital Cowboys podcast:
Really enjoyed listening to you on there, and, thanks to you, I'm probably going to subscribe to future DC podcasts. It's nice to see the English representin' (being English myself, NOT "British").
Great video. Leigh, I think you're right when you say that your gender shouldn't be the main thing that you are noted for in your work. However, I do think that when women (or any other previously unrepresented group of people) enter a career/hobby/lifestyle for the first time it helps to talk about the difficulties that are encountered, and openly challenge the assumptions that are made about gender. Hopefully it won't be too long before women gamers and gamemakers are as unremarkable as women wearing trousers.
I totally agree with Dan and Robert's comments. My teenage sister and some of her friends actually played a lot of videogames when they were little, but stopped doing so as they got older. I think this is because they had played quite gender neutral platformers, but when they began looking for fun games that were more grown up all they could see was games that screamed "boys only". IMO this becomes more of a problem as graphics get better. I'm playing Lost Odyssey right now and I'm enjoying it, but the character Ming is wearing a very revealing, ridiculous outfit that is completely distracting during cutscenes (and I'm a straight woman!) and lessens Ming as a character. I usually ignore revealing outfits in games I want to play, but with Lost Odyssey I'm actually a bit embarrassed if my flatmate watches the game when I use Ming in battle.
My sister is looking forward to Tekken 6, but AFAIK even in that game's large cast all the women are beautiful and generously bosomed but the men have a variety of appearances, with handsome ones but also ones that are old or fat. I think that progress will be made with female characters when there is a AAA game with a main female character as physically unattractive as Niko Bellic.
I wonder if it's fair to expect games should challenge gender roles in ways that even long-established film and television haven't yet.
Lisa, I think it would be cool to see a female heroine who's "as ugly as Niko Bellic," but in what other media have we had that? Any entertainment property I've ever seen or heard of that features an ugly woman uses her ugliness as a plot point, as comic relief, or something like that, rather than simply offering a hero who happens to be homely.
When the ugly woman appears in entertainment, it's usually just so society and good fortune can "rescue" her and make her over. It always turns out that she becomes beautiful and thereby ends up happy.
Totally agree with many of the points raised here, but I think it's easy to get into a trap of blaming games for a social stigma that is part of the entire culture of entertainment and social expectations for women, not something particular to the game industry alone.
I received a link to this video on Youtube from a good friend. My gaming has never progressed much past the point of NES, yes I had a brief spurt with a DS, and Mario 64, and have about an hour worth of play on Spore--but your perspective sparked my interest to the point that I've now joined your blog.
It seems games have always been a part of my love-life. I'm a writer, and my lifestyle blends well with the practices of the habitual game player. My fiance and I met when he was playing Warcraft, now he's playing Bioshock.
I agree with every point that you made in your blog. When my fiance was shopping for Bioshock I was immediately attracted to a combo pack game with several arcade style tiny games (bright colors--immediately accessible). He told me I was being ridiculous-and that those were not real games.
For me there is one major component keeping me out of gaming.
I SUCK.
It's like the second I set down that NES controller in the middle of a Marble Madness round--I put myself at a huge disadvantage for the rest of my life. I don't know if it could ever be hurdled. For me to try and play a game with my boyfriend--is the equivalent of a 6 year old recreational basketball player stepping on the court with a D-1 college player. It's just silly, stupid, and futile (unless you love to lose lose lose). It took him years and years to gain these skills as a player. He and all these other boys are always going to have a 10 year advantage on me. The controls are completely foreign--as well as the concept of losing myself for hours and hours and hours to something that is so frustrating.
Which leads me toward the other problem is these game narratives are just too long. I have never beaten a video game--I can imagine doing it--I bet it feels fantastic enough to goad someone on to playing another one--but the narratives are so long I lose my attention before winning is even a remote possibility. One of the best things about Mario 64 was that it was built out of a ton of tiny narratives that acted separately in their own regard. I never won because I'd just play the worlds I liked, whether it be aesthetically or because it's fun to slide on your belly over ice, over and over.
Your video got me thinking about what kind of game would really suck me in--and I don't think it's been invented.
It has nothing to do with being a woman--and especially pink--I totally agree with your kiddy pool statement--but it does have something to do with expanding the current boundaries of video gaming--and changing the marketing of major games--I was looking around on the Sony Online website today--it was terrifying--especially for anyone with even an iota of feminist sensibility.
I appreciate your work-everything you say in your video felt accurate and real. And even though I'm far from a gamer--I am a woman in a creative field--my life is continuously affected by these games--I would love to play if I could find a game that matched my demands--and I think it would be even more attractive a project to try and create those types of storylines.
You've earned my fan-ship.
Thanks for the good work.
Great vid! You basically said it. Marketing is the great divder. Exposure is another factor but the realization that we want to and can begin to fix it is a huge step in the right direction. I am glad for groups and clans such as PMSCLAN,Frag Dolls,DSO Clan, Gaming Angels,& the Cavegirls. They can provide info and sometimes a "safe haven" for the new or timid girl gamer.
I agree with Dan completely. If you were wondering why there's so many men in the gaming industry, this is obviously why. Go find the comp sci majors at any university and count the number of females. It's not even close to proportional. In a gaming industry where technical skills used to and still are very important, men got a head start. There are so little women working for these game companies because so few were or are training the skills necessary to enter them. (women are more represented in things such as graphical design, so this is less true today than it was then, obviously, but men are not grossly under-represented in those categories)
That's not to say women can't go into a technical profession, but we've conditioned them to believe they shouldn't. So I guess what I'm saying is if you happen to have children and one is a girl, buy her a fire engine. You never know.
Really enjoyed this video, Leigh. A good solid discussion which reminds me a lot of that post I wrote for Destructoid about a year ago.
The only thing that irked me a *teeny* *tiny* bit was the hats off to Ubisoft's efforts at creating and marketing games for young girls. Those games are pretty whimsy, pathetic, and painfully "feminine" to the point where they're not really doing much more than approving and supporting female stereotypes (Imagine Babies? My Weight Loss Coach? Bleaych).
But anyway, give my regards to Daniel Floyd, there were some really great things discussed in here!
Haha, cool, Tiff -- I actually didn't write that part!!
That being said, though, I always hesitate to say little girls can't have pandering pink whimsy stuff. Many many little girls are drawn to that stuff, and I'd wager it's even gut-level biology: nature does want us ladies to grow up to be mommies and nurturers, even if nurture would like there to be options.
That's why I am fine with Ubi marketing puppy and baby-doll games to little girls -- especially if it gets them comfortable at an early age with interactivity, technology, hardware devices and stuff like that. Technophobes are likely to have very limited options for success as adults this generation, so I just like that little girls are getting a DS in hand, even if it's pink and sparkly.
The responsibility, I feel, is on parents primarily and education secondarily, to make sure pony princess kitchen cooking mama puppyland doesn't comprise the whole of a young girl's source material for creative play. There's nothing wrong with girly games in and of themselves, and I'd argue that defining gender identity through simple markers like dolls versus trucks is something natural, if not essential, in early childhood. Again, the only problem is when a kid is led to the conclusion that identity must limit the roles they can play in the wider world.
Hello there Leigh - well I have some comments about all of this but, well, you know, it's on a blog. I mention some stuff about ham radios - which is always exciting!
http://ultrakillbot.com/?p=1563
I actually meant the Ubisoft thing to sound more tongue-in-cheek. Looking at that part now, I don't think that comes through at all.
Lesson learned for next time, I guess.
@ tiffchow
I was almost going to mention the Ubisoft comment but held my tongue because, as much as I hate *those* games, what right do I have to dictate what young girls should play? Still, I'm glad someone spoke up about that. At least I'm not a totally off the mark.
I brought Zelda home once from the rental store as a kid because it was obviously popular and tried playing it. It made absolutely no sense to me whatsoever. I walked around a bit, didn’t know what to make of the tiled screens, talked to a few people, didn’t know what I was supposed to do about that either. After a few minutes I turned it off and went back to my other games with obvious objectives (platformers, racers, fighters, etc.).
I had no concept of an RPG or narrative with games. I think this is similar to people who play casual games, which obviously includes a lot of women. The objectives are immediately obvious and straightforward. They see the “hardcore” titles and, if they can get past the male-oriented design and actually try them, they have no idea what they’re supposed to do. Walk around for 20 minutes talking to people? Why would you want to do that? Where am I supposed to go? What’s my goal? How am I supposed to know how to get there?
It’s one thing to suck at something but it’s another to not even get it. Most people suck at guitar hero the first time they play it, women included, but the music games are hugely popular with women. From the very beginning of that game, you’re playing a fake guitar. It’s obvious. You have a goal to work towards. On the other hand, you turn on a hardcore game and it may be an hour before you are really playing, and often the goal isn’t obvious, especially if you’re not used to common game mechanics.
I think there’s a lot more to designing games for women/casual gamers than toning down the overt masculinity, it’s about the transition in thought from obvious goals to exploration and discovery. This is a huge jump. There’s no equivalent to that way of thinking in any other media. I think a lot of gamers and designers don’t realize that this is a big mental obstacle for a lot of people.
Ironically, I ended up making that jump with Zelda, though it was about 6 years later.
I finally had time to listen to this and I loved it. Gender and gaming is one of the issues I am the most interested in, and it was very nice to hear what two people I respect had to say about it.
In the game industry, my goal is to help make games as accessible as possible to everyone; a big part of that is criticizing the ridiculous proportions and clothing choices given to female characters. So far nobody has listened to me because those in charge are obsessed with the fact that sex sells.
They forget that while yes, boobs will sell a few more copies, it likely doesn't sell as many copies as adding a whole new demographic to your title!
Once again you have both (though for the first time together) said exactly what I was thinking (or at least, what I should be thinking if I had time to organize my thoughts) about an issue very dear to me. Thanks!
@SVGL: The problem with the "ugly person makeover" concept in television and movies is that the ugly people usually weren't ugly to begin with: they were pretty people with a shitty haircut and glasses. I think a larger problem with society in general is extreme superficiality, and it's reflected both in that genre and in video games, as discussed in the video.
This is an awesome video, exactly what I've been saying for years.
As a female gamer, I do love the "boys" games like COD etc, and I am frustrated at the way the industry compartmentalises "games for girls" - we are people and all like different things, just like men.
I wholly agree the "oversexed" women character in the industry certainly put women off - they can see the game wasn't made with them in mind.
I don't believe that blockbuster video games (such as Halo, Prince of Persia, Grand Theft Auto) deserve more prestige than browser-based games. As a male, the older I get (and the more the right side of my brain develops), the more I am attracted to short and fun games, and the less to long epic ones.
I think that men should try to be more steered towards "female games", not the other way around.
Great film, though. I shall send it to many friends.
Why don't more women watch TV? We really need to address this issue! I mean, sure, a ton of women watch TV, but they're just watching Top Chef, not the real shows like Ultimate Fighter.
So, I watched the video when it was first put up and read all the comments and agreed. But it all really hit home with the seeing the October 2009 issue of PC Gamer...
::shakes head::
I rant about it here - http://wp.me/swYuA-37.
sounds like a lot of assumption. is it because of sexism against men that men don't buy 50% of fashion magazines? why does everything have to be 50/50? it clearly doesn't work that way. statistics on women gaming always tend to be dubious, from including flash games and solitaire to inflating the number of owners based on wii sales. wii purchasers are made up of mostly casual gamers. aka people who are not serious about it and got it as a fad.
anyways this topic has been beaten to death endlessly because of the simple fact that its always asking the wrong question. if it were true that women had an equal desire to game as men, then simply making an unsexy female game character would mean raking in cash by the fistful by the first company who would bother...and lets face it, companies are greedy. they'd do it in a snap. in fact a well rated game Beyond Good & Evil had a rather unsexy female lead, but female gamers did not save that game from poor sales at all.
anyways i always get the feeling the people who write these articles and get all in a huff about the whole supposed "situation" are not gamers and have no idea what a good game is and how gamers actually think.
anyways, the games that sell well with women sell well with women, the sims for example. whats wrong with that. why must everything be forced towards womens entertainment. whats the good of gaming in general,the assumption that its an inherently good thing to waste countless hours of your life starring at the tube twiddling your thumbs is a rather dodgy one.
i do remember a scientific study about why women don't like games as much, it seems they don't get as much reward when gaining territory in games. http://med.stanford.edu/news_releases/2008/february/videobrain.html yes.. science.
@ivan
"I consider it foolish to assert that ANY market must expand its consumer base to survive. Many industries do just fine catering to a particular demographic."
i agree, the assumption that everything must be genericized to be gender neutral is wrongheaded. women were not driven to arcades and video games even when the games were 8bit and crude. these simple facts and realities are so often ignored when such subjects come up. there was a pretty hard limit on how sexy any character could be when playing your nes game. and yet most gamers even then were male. reality doesn't match the claims of the pc gamer brigade and the companies know this. as its not pc they cannot say this in public really. so you get mealy mouthed pc videos like that. the games that appeal to men appeal to men, the ones that appeal to both appeal to both, and the ones to women appeal to women, theres nothing wrong with that.
anyways, just how does this fairness work? perhaps its women with a sexist eye. putting far too much thought into how their character looks instead of whether they'd actually have fun playing the game for its own sake, not as a feminist statement of protest. look at any entertainment that doesn't involve male strippers. it is almost garranteed that the lead in any female orientated entertainment will have a female lead, and in fact the entire band of characters will probably be females. perhaps its that women are more sexist than men are in this aspect.
same here: Why is this blog called Sexy Videogameland?
by the way pls visit me at:
http://hotcelebritypicsgallery.blogspot.com/
http://sexygirlshub.blogspot.com/
http://womencelebrityexposed.blogspot.com/
thanks
-cathy young
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